Charles Murphy, an investment banker in New York City, recently leaped from the 24th floor of a hotel to his death. According to the Wall Street Journal, Murphy was worth tens of millions of dollars, and, made millions each year. Yet, according to his friends, Murphy was frequently concerned about not having enough money. The measuring stick we use is ...
Although the Old Testament encourages us to give at least 10% of our income to God’s work, studies claim the average individual gives less than 2.5% of their income. Personal giving, however, far exceeds corporate giving. In 2015, according to Commerce Department and National Philanthropic Trust data, I calculated corporate giving at only 1.12% of net income. Many shareholders have ...
On a recent vacation, my friends, Phil and Gina, were discussing the importance of observing people and events with a quiet mind. For example: The young captain on their dinner cruise who was as enthused as the guests when whales were spotted! Or when the captain gave the wheel to one of his crew members while he helped serve dinner. ...
Years ago, Kathy and I realized we needed an estate plan to assure the special needs of our son were addressed. We were referred to an estate attorney. We filled out questionnaires, had a brief meeting with the attorney, and then very quickly thereafter, were handed a document that was supposed to be our final estate plan. When I reviewed ...
My perceptions of Ray Kroc were changed by the movie, “The Founder.” His ruthless pursuit of fame and power climaxed in a scene where Kroc is talking to Mac McDonald on the phone. Ray Kroc was forcing the McDonald brothers out of the business they founded. In this telephone conversation Kroc says to Mac McDonald, “If my competitor was drowning, ...
On a “60 Minutes” segment on bike racing, Istvan Varjis, a Hungarian inventor, was interviewed about a small motor that he designed that could secretly propel bicycles forward much faster. He believes that his motor has been used to cheat in the Tour de France since 1998. During the interview, Istvan was asked, “If someone told you they were going ...
In an article titled, “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices,” the Harvard Business Review highlighted five ways that organizations needlessly provoke good people to make unethical choices. The final way discussed in this article is, “A positive example isn’t being set.” Years ago, I attended a CEO roundtable group meeting where we were surprised to learn that the host CEO ...
The Harvard Business Review published an article titled, “Why Ethical People Make Unethical Choices.” This article highlighted five ways that organizations needlessly provoke so-called good people to make unethical choices. This week we’re going to discuss these five organizational flaws. The first one is, “It is psychologically unsafe to speak up.” If an employee believes that no one wants to ...
This week I’m addressing the importance of selecting the right leaders for a board or church. In Titus 1:8, Paul said about overseers, “Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.” Today we’ll focus on being self-controlled. The meaning of this word in the context of Paul’s directive is someone moderate in their ...
There’s an interesting contrast in the Bible between Saul and David. King Saul twice violated God’s commands about handling the spoils of battle. Saul’s consequence was for God to reject him as king. David, however, had an affair with Bathsheba, and killed Uriah to cover up his affair. Yet, God gave David a second chance. In 2 Samuel 12, we ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
